The Adaptation of Students to the Academic Environment in University
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18662/rrem/137Keywords:
Adaptation, student, university, accommodation, integration, stress.Abstract
The aim of this research is related to the issue of the adaptation of the students to academic life and to the analysis of the difficulties faced by students when adapting to their new status. Considering these, we initiated a study that addressed the adaptation process in relation to the reasons and the ability to resist stress.
This study had 146 participants, students from the Polytechnic University of Bucharest, who were asked a set of questions on the subject.
The research has shown that many students face problems related to integration and adaptation to the new context of life. As a result, a large number of them considered dropping out of university. Also, one-third of interviewees believe that teachers did not contribute in accommodating students to the academic life. Only 10% of students have sought help from a psychotherapist, although many of them have considered this option.
In the conclusions of this paper, solutions have been proposed to help the development and the maintenance of skills meant to help those involved in the process of adaptation. These solutions have been based on the development of relational-psychological and neuro-physiological abilities. With respect to relational-psychological solutions, we relied on the stimulation of creative capacity and, indirectly, supporting the manifestation of intellectual potential. When discussing the development of neuro-physiological abilities, we mainly referred to the development of the capacity to relax.
We believe that this research can be a valuable information source, the results of which can be integrated into the administrative and educational endeavours of several categories of beneficiaries or decision-makers.
References
Beyers, W., & Goossens, L. (2002). Concurrent and predictive validity of the student adaptation to college questionnaire in a sample of European freshman students. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 62(3),527-538. doi:10.1177/00164402062003009
Chemers, M., Hu, L., & Garcia, B. (2001). Academic self-efficacy and first-year college student performance and adjustment. Journal of Educational Psychology, 93(1), 55-64. doi:10.1037/0022-0663.93.1.55
Enes, R., & Tahsin, I. (2016). Coping styles, social support, relational self-construal, and resilience in predicting students’ adjustment to university life, educational sciences. Theory and Practice, 16(1), 187- 208. doi:10.12738/estp.2016.1.0058
Fryer, L. K. (2017). (Latent) transitions to learning at university: A latent profile transition analysis of first-year Japanese students. Higher Education, 73(3), 519-537. doi.org/10.1007/s10734-016-0094-9
García-Perales, R., & Almeida, L. S. (2019). An enrichment program for students with high intellectual ability: Positive effects on school adaptation. Comunicar, 27(60), 39-47. doi:10.3916/C60-2019-04
Hays, R. B., & Oxley, D. (1986). Social network development and functioning during a life transition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50(2), 305- 313. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.50.2.305
Nelson, K. J., Smith, J. E., & Clarke, J. A. (2012). Enhancing the transition of commencing students into university: an institution-wide approach. Higher Education Research & Development, 31(2), 185-199. doi:10.1080/07294360.2011.556108
Orlov, A., Pazukhina, S., Yakushin, A., & Ponomareva, T. (2018). A study of firstyear students’ adaptation difculties as the basis to promote their personal development in university education, Psychology in Russia: State of the Art, 11(1), 71-83. doi:10.11621/pir.2018.0106
Pleșca, M. (2017). Motivaţia de adaptare a studenţilor la mediul universitar [Motivation for students to adapt to the university environment]. Retrieved from dir.upsc.md: 8080/xmlui/bitstream/handle/123456789/879/PLESCA%2c%20M._MOTIVATIA_DE_ADAPTARE_A_STUDENTILOR_LA_MEDIUL_UNI VERSITAR.pdf
Rean, A. A, Kudashev, A. R., & Baranov, A. A. (2007). Psihologiya adaptatzii lichnosti [Psychology of personality adaptation]. Sankt-Peterburg, Russia: PrimeEvroznak
Sava, S., Bunoiu, M., Malita, L, & Isvoran, A. (2014). Copingul ca modalitate de adaptare la studii [Coping as a way to adapt to studies]. Bucharest, Romania: RAO
Terpstra-Tong, J., & Ahmad, A. (2018). High school-university disconnect: a complex issue in Malaysia. International Journal of Educational Management, 32(5), 851-865. doi:10.1108/IJEM-10-2016-0214
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant this journalright of first publication, with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work, with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g. post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g. in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as an earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
Revista Romaneasca pentru Educatie Multidimensionala Journal has an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs
CC BY-NC-ND